Situated on the remote northeast point of the Bruce Peninsula overlooking Georgian Bay, Cabot Head Light Station was just a few short years ago a drive-up tourist “destination” with museum, picnic area and gift shop! Sadly this property with it’s stunning views of the Bay now sits abandoned, looking more like a ghost town!
The light station boarded up, sidewalks crumbling, picnic areas overgrown with brush, the only road in barely passable by car. Reasons for the abandonment? From what I understand there were/are three main ones: road access/maintenance, hazardous contamination, and lack of funding – each made all the more difficult to resolve due to the isolated location of the property.
When last open to the public in 2016 the light station was managed by the not-for-profit organization “Friends of Cabot Head” with the majority of their funding coming from visitors to the property, memberships and private donations. The property was promoted by both the “Ports” and “Great Lakes Cruising Club” guides as a recommended place to visit!
In 2017 the property was closed to deal with contamination. The Department of Fisheries and Oceans did a massive overhaul and abatement, removing the contaminated material by late summer of 2019.
But then in 2020 covid set in preventing the re-opening of the light station. Also the lease of the land to the North Bruce Peninsula was not renewed by the Dept of Fisheries and Oceans that year and so “Friends of Cabot Head” lost their official sub-lease and main source of income. Also put on hold were further discussions about the future of the property and it’s accessibility while the road continued to deteriorate.
A little history on the road – Cabot Head Road begins at the north end of Dyers Bay – a small shoreline community approx 10 km south of Cabot Head. From here it winds north along the stunning shoreline, with views of the escarpment – high limestone cliffs on one side, turquoise waters on the other! A beautiful drive however the road has become extremely eroded in areas, worsening each year, and a gate has now been erected to prevent vehicular traffic. And one further complication – this “road” winds through both crown and private property making it all the more of a challenge to maintain and govern!
Below is a short video I took while dinghying south along the coast from Cabot Head that shows how close the road is to the shore; also a photo of the beautiful turquoise waters nearer shore:
During my cruise of the Bruce this month, I stopped at Dyers Bay pier and had a conversation with one of the locals about the road – they made it quite clear they were opposed to any future development that would increase motorized traffic through their quiet hamlet.
However this is the only road that leads to both the light station and a bird observatory cabin (located on the opposite side of the basin). It is also a leg of the famous Bruce Peninsula bike race – the Gravel Gran Fondo – a gravel bike race up the west shore of Georgian Bay, from Lions Head to Cabot Head in the fall.
So what’s in store for the future? There are still a few interested parties that hope to see this area become an ecological tourist destination, one suggestion seeing the road turned into a hiking/cycling trail. But it remains to be seen if that will include a re-opening of the light station as a tourist destination.
For now passing mariners enjoying the adjacent Wingfield Basin, along with the occasional hiker or cyclist who has conquered the road, may enjoy visits to the property. Hopefully a future solution will be found that is agreeable to all parties involved and also favourable to the environment! My one note of caution should you decide to visit: keep an eye for the poison ivy plants!
Below are some additional resources about the history of this area:
“Cabot Head: A History of its Lighthouse, Shipwreck, Fishery and Timber Industry”; author Patrick Folkes
Bruce Peninsula Gravel Gran Fondo Bike Race: https://www.brucegravelfondo.com/
Some additional history: https://www.lighthousefriends.com/light.asp?ID=1056
And this great article from 2020: https://brucepeninsulapress.com/2020/08/11/the-storied-past-and-uncertain-future-of-the-cabot-head-lighthouse
Some further photos:
Georgian Bay Beauties: Find Your Wilderness! 
So sad to see history like this just abandoned because of politics.
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Well, there are a lot of parties involved – some that want it and some that don’t. They really need to think outside the box on this one and work on a solution; the property is both historically and ecologically significant and in a beautiful undeveloped area of Ontario. And yes, it will be very sad if no solution is found, it will become one of the many “ghost towns” on the Bay.
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